A Feature Story by Paul Kolinski

June 26 & 27th, 2015

The 2nd Annual Pikes Peak Speed Week Airstrip Attack (PPAA)

As I walked past the entrance to the old Colorado Springs Airport

I heard a slight mumble coming from behind me. I rapidly spun a 180

and saw two elegant Porsches glaring at me. Reactively, I pulled my

iPhone out and got low on the ground.

A “Meteor Grey Metallic” Porsche 918 Spyder slowed and swooped

towards me for a perfect photo opportunity (seen down below). The man-

behind-the-wheel was nestled perfectly between the carbon fiber bucket

seat, and the disposable-plastic seat cover the $900,000 hyper-car

gained post assembly.

Following the 918 was someone who I believe is associated with

one of the main groups that put-on the Airstrip Attack (either Shift

Sector or Revvolution). I knew nothing about the car he was piloting

except that it was a vintage Porsche; one that looked as if wind

itself had shaped the car. I’ll admit, I was a clueless wit until Ray,

the owner of these fine vehicles, offered me insight into the history

his 1963 904 Carrera GT possessed. The classic is #049 of 116 ever

made and is finished in the classic Porsche silver paint with #36 on

the side to represent participation at Le Mans in 1964. According to

Ray, “The car has such historical ties, that even Porsche wanted the

car for their museum in Stuttgart”. We’ll get back this thrilling

Porsche duo later.

The Pikes Peak Airstrip Attack & Pikes Peak International Hill

Climb (PPIHC) are the two main events that occur during Speed Week.

All of the events take place in the Colorado Springs area and have

attracted attendants from all over the world. In 2013, the PPIHC

witnessed Sebastian Leob and his professional World Rally Championship

team travel from France to wipe-away the previous record set by

Nobuhiro ‘Monster’ Tajima. As the years go on more racers and amateurs

attend this great race, creating a possibility for events like the

PPAA to be established.

Last year I would estimate the event drew a total of 2-3 thousand

attendants. However, the Pikes Peak Airstrip Attack this year drew in

roughly 7,000 people according to Breanna Goodwin and Jeff Mosier.

They are associated with TheSportsCorp.com, an organization that

supports a majority of local events in Colorado Springs (such as The

Colorado State Games). Goodwin & Mosier are critical to the

organization that works to promote the PPAA and Pikes Peak Speed Week.

After having a great conversation with the two of them, I have no

doubt that the Pikes Peak Airstrip Attack is one of the many new &

annual events that will call Colorado Springs home in the future.

Breanna and Jeff know that the PPAA is a huge success as people are

already asking about a 2016 event.

Usually the spotlight during Speed Week focuses more towards the

professional racers who set record lap times. However, this year

Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al-Thani got to bask in a bit of light

himself. From Qatar, Al-Thani shipped both his brand-new Porsche 911

GT3, and his Porsche 918 Spyder (glossed in “Rhodium Silver

Metallic”). This along with his run up the mountain on Sunday got him

front page on the sports section of The Colorado Springs Gazette.

What cannot be ignored about this year’s event is the diversity.

This year far more people showed up racing their normal, everyday

affordable cars, and giving fans a whale of a time while doing so.

Some people had brought their ‘garage creations’ to the proper

environment just to see what they were capable of. While others like

Prince Al-Thani, brought their toys too, the exciting part was

witnessing the vast array of cars, from McLaren’s to Lamborghini’s,

from Acura’s to Honda’s. The PPAA is undoubtedly one of the best

places a racing enthusiast or racer could go, given the fact this

diversity is openly promoted by all.

The event also gave car geeks a chance to openly communicate

amongst a friendly crowd of racers. Armik Aghakhani proudly brought

his trailer full of toys from California to the event for his second

consecutive time. Last year Armik brought a 2014 Audi R8 V10 Plus, a

Lexus LFA, and 1,500+ HP Ford GT (aptly named Black Mamba). This year,

he decided to only pack a couple of exotics in the semi. One was a

creatively custom-colored black Porsche 918 Spyder with bronze

‘splatter’ livery on the vehicle’s front & side. The 3rd Porsche 918

Spyder at the PPAA (let that float around in your noggin for a minute)

was accompanied on the trailer by the show-stopping 50th Anniversary

Lamborghini Aventador.

Show-stopping is no exaggeration either, as the ‘Giallo Maggio’

paint can blind a person who looks at it the wrong way. At such a

noisy place it is one of the few cars people could hear start-up from

a distance. Compared to the standard edition Aventador I witnessed in

2014, this 50th Anniversary edition seemed to have more grunt blasting

through its bellows. This Aventador created so much electricity

amongst people that it was almost impossible for Armik to navigate. It

was as if the combination of the bright yellow-green paint scheme, and

the sounds the angry bull left people standing still. As if in a

trance, spectators gazed at the angry bull they were blocking.

Aghakhani’s son claims that the Aventador gains the most attention on

the road compared to his fathers’ other cars, and he openly shared his

love for the famous Lamborghini V12. Armik managed to rocket the 918

Spyder to a personal best of 170.10 MPH on the strip, and while the

Aventador did a few passes he never seemed to have given it “the full

potatoes” as Chris Harris would say.

For me personally, the 2015 PPAA is going to be hard to beat.

This is because I was finally able to witness the brand-new 2015

Lamborghini Huracan (3 of them to be exact) square-off against an Audi

R8 V10 that came from Monument, Colorado. If you were not yet aware of

the influence that Audi has on Lamborghini before reading this, you

will now have a good idea of how involved Volkswagen Automotive Group

keeps their companies.

The all-aluminum chassis construction used to produce the Audi R8

since its birth has undergone significant changes in the 2016 model

year. Audi claims the chassis is 100 LB’s lighter than the previous

year meaning that Lamborghini wants a piece of Audi’s engineering for

their new Gallardo successor. The Huracan uses 90% the same chassis as

the R8, with subtle changes to accommodate the car’s mechanical

differences. The real treat was being able to hear the two (almost

identical) V10’s redline creating a deep and exhilarating roar. It is

a shame the Audi was electronically limited to 153 MPH, because the

Huracan only hit 150 MPH for its top speed. So even with it’s limiter,

the R8 was actually faster in this half-mile trap race.

While discussing these different “Speed Week” events it is

important to remember that it all stemmed from one man. Spencer

Penrose had always envisioned that people from all over America would

bring their finest auto machines to Pikes Peak, so driver and car

could be tested by the full-gravel road snaking up ‘America’s

Mountain’. The “Race to the Clouds” is hosted by the Broadmoor Hotel,

located at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. This particular hotel is

home to a plethora of racing memorabilia.

For example, many vintage letters addressed to Penrose can be

found encased in the foyer of the bar. This is where one can read

Penrose’s personal mail – all of the various letters and papers he

received from across America. These letters effectively conveyed the

eagerness inside of the racers, letting Penrose know just how excited

they were to compete in the race. Other letters entailed stories of

triumph and defeat, but more often than not the racers always wanted

to come back to America’s Mountain.

Penrose probably never imagined that his event would become the

2nd oldest race in America behind the Indy 500 and draw in competitors

from all across the globe. Even more so, Penrose wouldn’t have thought

that an all-electric race car along with a new Porsche 918 Spyder

(registered in Quatar) would zip up to the top of Pikes Peak in 2015.

Getting back to the Porsche pair, the owner of the 918 Spyder and

the 904 Carrera GT informed me that he is planning on starting his own

annual event, “Cars & Colors”. The idea behind the event is similar to

a “Cars & Coffee” meet, but differs as there will be a three day road-

trip-style drive with chances to win $5,000 in cash prizes at every

stop along the way. Ray told me that he expects a great showing of

cars both rare and bountiful to his first annual event being hosted in

Telluride Colorado during September 24-27, 2015. Ray said he chose

Telluride as a location for the event because “Telluride has the

highest concentration of “14 ers” in Colorado” and that means some of

the best driving roads & scenery for attendants. Personally, Ray said

he will be bringing his 918 Spyder, Carrera GT, 1970 Dodge Challenger

(fully original), and 904 Carrera GT. The exact same Lincoln that saw

the assassination of JFK will also make its first public appearance at

the event since that tragic day on November 22, 1963.

The most prominent aspect of the PPAA this year was how well it

suited the unique spectrum of automotive enthusiasts in attendance.

The event featured two lanes this year for simultaneous runs, as well

as a bike class so people could explore their Hyabusas and BMW RR’s

effectively. The BMW RR rider was happy to keep attendants engaged by

clocking a wheelie or two at roughly 100 MPH. A big surprise to me was

seeing an Acura Integra tuned to hit 190 MPH on the runway, it did

just that. It enthralled the crowd frankly because it offered more

noise and excitement than the premiere supercars of today.

Speaking of those quiet toys, McLaren made their first appearance

at the event with a Graphite Grey MP4-12C, and a Volcano Yellow 650S

that REALLY caught some eyes. Another first-timer was the OB Prestige

Auto Group from British Colombia, Canada. They brought three of their

monster 1,500+ HP Lamborghini Gallardo’s via two full-sized Volvo

semis.

I personally enjoyed the gentleman with the Mercury Montego GT.

He attended the event last year and claimed he attended the 2015 PPAA

because he did some new modifications to the car, hoping to improve

his personal best of 153 MPH. What one hopes is that the Pikes Peak

Airstrip Attack is here to stay permanently and will continue to be a

foundation for motor enthusiasts on both sides of the financial front,

and continue to build important bonds with a plethora of different car

enthusiasts.